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Basilosaurus
Basilosaurus (Name meaning "King Lizard") was a primative, prehistoric whale that lived in the late Eocene. These were by far the biggest predators in the Eocene seas. Description Basilosaurus, just like Dorudon, was a prehistoric whale (Archaeocetii). Over four times the length of a Great White Shark, Basilosaurus ''was around 18-21 meters in length with a skull approximately 2-3 meters long, and weighed 45-60 tons. Its' post-cranial skeleton resembled that of the modern whales, but it still had nostrils rather than a blowhole, and its' ribcage indicates that it couldn't dive as deep as the modern whales can. Incidentially, when it was first discovered in the 1830s and according to a drawing made in 1960, ''Basilosaurus ''was thought to have been another giant sea reptile (like a Mosasaur), just like sea serpents, or even the Loch Ness Monster, and hence its name means "the regal reptile". Later though, via its teeth, ''Basilosaurus ''true identity as a primitive whale was established, but due to scientific rules, the original name had to remain. The skulls of ''Basilosaurus ''are chilling to most people. There are no whales with skulls like the skull of Basilosaurus in modern times. Great peg–like teeth at the front for seizing prey. Once inside the mouth, the prey is sliced up by the big teeth at the back, great big cusps at the front: they are for slicing through flesh ''Basilosaurus ''lived in the late Eocene time period, roughly 43-38 MYA, even though the '''Walking with Beasts' episode is dated 36 MYA instead. It lived in the warm and shallow seas (like the Tethys) of the time, and it resembled the thoughtcarnivorous marine reptiles that died during the K/T extinction event, especially in the skull, where it had saw-edged teeth used for catching fish and other slippery sea life. Mating Females were eagerly pressured by several males, but it was the eldest and the biggest males the females chose to mate with. Mating was not an easy task for such huge, free–floating animals, so Basilosaurus needed a little extra help. As the successful male maneuvered into position, they called upon one small legacy of their distant lend ancestors. Basilosaurus retained two tiny back legs. These were useless for walking or even swimming, but they were used to lock their long narrow bodies together during mating. In Walking with... Series In Walking with Beasts ep. 2, Basilosaurus ''was looked up in detail: the audience saw how it used its vestigal hind legs during mating, how it hunted smaller sharks, as well as ''Dorudon ''young in the open waters, and how it on occassion would enter the mangrove forests to hunt such creatures as ''Moeritherium, although unsuccessfully. In Sea Monsters ep. 2, the late Eocene seas in which Basilosaurus ''lived were identified as the 4th most dangerous sea of all time, mostly because of it. A juvenile 50-footer was attracted by the sounds that came from Nigel Marven's speaker and eventually tore it off and swam away with it, shaking it as a tabby cat would shake a rat. In '''Walking With Cavemen ' when the continents are moving and the scene goes into the water you can quickly see a Basilosaurus. Errors *In Chased By Sea Monsters, ''Basilosaurus ''is depicted being able to 'sing', but in reality, it lacked the organ for this. Appearances *Walking With Beasts **Whale Killer *Prehistoric Planet *Sea Monsters *Walking with Cavemen **First Ancestors(cameo) Gallery Basilosaurus - (False) King of the Lizards|Basilosaurus as it appeared in the Walking with Trilogy! Basilosaurus large.jpg|Basilosaurus BBC picture WWB1x2 BasilosaurusHarassedByDorudon.jpg|Basilosaurus swimming around Durodon Basilosaurus.jpg|Basilosaurus swimming SM1x2 BasilosaurusEatingASpeaker.jpg|Basilosaurus eating Whale Sonar 1388515188 4d8af78abf0 m.jpg|Basilosaurus upriver 300px-Basilosaurus_wwd.jpg|Basilosaurus under a boat aa.jpg|Basilosaurus at seabed Promo Basilosaurus.jpg Category:Mammals Category:Carnivores Category:Walking with Wikia Category:Walking with Beasts Animals Category:Whale Killer animals Category:Sea Monsters Animals Category:Sea Monsters Episode 1 animals Category:Sea Monsters Episode 2 animals Category:Sea Monsters Episode 3 animals Category:Time map animals Category:Paleogene animals Category:Eocene Animals Category:Animals from Africa Category:Animals from Sahara Desert Category:Marine animals Category:Vertebrates Category:Animals Category:Chordates Category:Solitary animals Category:Whales Category:Basilosaurids Category:Cetaceans